ABERLOUR ORPHANAGE (ABERLOUR CHILDCARE TRUST)

Is one of the oldest charities in Scotland. The Trust had its beginnings in 1875 in a small 4-roomed cottage on the banks of the river Lour, in Aberlour in Banffshire. The local episcopalian minister Reverend Charles Jupp '^{Canon Jupp}', took into this cottage four "mitherless bairns" and the Aberlour Orphanage was born.

The Reverend Canon Jupp was a born Fundraiser and was soon known as "The Beggar of the North" for his constant fundraising activities including door to door collections and the famous Jupp's Sales of unwanted clothing. So successful was he that within three years a new building had been created to accommodate 30 children at a cost of Lb2002 and 15 shillings.

Seven years later the Orphanage could accommodate 100 children and grew further, surviving many crises including fires and of course two world wars. The end of the second world war heralded a new attitude to residential care establishments and the Trust adapted accordingly. The use of large residential buildings became a thing of the past as it was realised that children could benefit from smaller, family type care homes. In the 1960s we took the heart-wrenching decision to sell the orphanage which was by then very old and required substantial modernisation.

By the mid 1970's we had 11 children's homes spread across Scotland and could congratulate ourselves on keeping ahead of the times. However, in the 1980's there was a further, more significant change in social welfare thinking. In particular there was a strong feeling against any kind of residential care for children and much more emphasis on looking after children within their own families and in their own communities. Adoption and Fostering were the preferred options and the Trust gradually began to change its role to that of implementing new and innovative new projects for all kinds of disadvantaged children in Scotland